Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408150058
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TERENCE HUNT ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Long
Even if Clinton engineers a promised comeback, the question will remain: If he stumbles on a politically popular issue such as crime, how will he fare on the much tougher battleground of health care?
And if Clinton and the Democrats can't convince voters that they've broken gridlock when they control both houses of Congress, why would voters conclude that they deserve another chance?
``If you don't have two of the most important issues, health reform and crime, it's hard to run on a platform of accomplishment,'' Democratic pollster Mark Mellman said. ``They'd have to find another platform.''
Fearing big losses in both the House and Senate, Democrats already are dreading the Nov. 8 elections. Clinton sorely needs a legislative win to divert attention from Whitewater, the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit and other problems.
``He's in a terribly difficult situation because of a lack of a working political majority in Congress,'' said Erwin Hargrove, a political scientist at Vanderbilt University. ``The highly partisan Republican Party is very cohesive and there are clashing factions within the Democratic coalition.
``There are just not enough guaranteed votes,'' he said.
Clinton put Congress on notice Saturday that he won't give up an assault weapons ban to revive the crime bill.
Republicans steered clear of the gun-control issue while insisting that the legislation had been gutted of its toughest crime-fighting provisions and loaded with excessive spending.
Anxious to resolve the dispute, Clinton urged Congress to put off its planned August vacation if necessary and ``stay in Washington until they get this job done.''
Democratic and Republican leaders met Saturday in the Capitol to discuss their differences.
Rep. David Bonior, D-Mich., said afterwards that the public was outraged. The responsibility for the defeat in the House ``rests at the hands of the Republican leadership in conjunction with the special interests.''
House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich said the ban on assault weapons should be handled as a separate bill. He said the Republicans also demanded that ``social pork'' be dropped. And he said they want tougher provisions on notifying communities about the release of sexual predators from prison and keeping mandatory sentences for drug dealers.
Elected with only 43 percent of the vote, Clinton never has had a strong hand with Congress. His legislative victories often have been based on one- and two-vote margins, jokingly referred to by White House officials as ``Clinton landslides.''
When the House voted Thursday to shelve the crime bill, 58 Democrats refused to vote with Clinton, unafraid to defy the president who heads their party.
Stunned by the loss, House leaders indefinitely delayed action on health care reform.
Across the country, many Democrats feel comfortable distancing themselves from Clinton. ``Why be cute about it? Of course he's a liability,'' said Kathy Karpan, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Wyoming, where Clinton's policies are unpopular.
``Part of the problem, frankly, has been that even with our victories, we don't get very much credit,'' lamented White House chief of staff Leon Panetta. His complaint is reflected in polls that show Clinton's approval rating declining despite an improving economy.
Trying to rebound from the crime bill defeat, White House strategists say the vote may provide the opportunity for a big comeback victory for Clinton, allowing him to position himself against Republicans on an issue of deep concern to most Americans.
``It's a battle, frankly, that the president can win because it is an important issue to the American people,'' Panetta said. ``If he is viewed as a president who is willing to keep fighting to get an issue like this accomplished for the American people, and he does, then I think it strengthens his hand.''
Paul Begala, a political adviser to Clinton, said crime is an issue on which an overwhelming majority of Americans want Congress to act. ``We have the police on our side and they have the [National Rifle Association] on their side.''
The defeat energized Clinton. He went to the White House briefing room after the vote and attacked the Republican leadership and the NRA.
The next morning, Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York stood with Clinton at the White House as the president repeated his charges. Clinton then went to Minneapolis, where, surrounded on stage by uniformed law enforcement officials, he suggested his opponents should be ashamed of their vote.
``I am glad I will never have to explain to my wife, my daughter, my grandchildren and the people who sent me to Washington why I did something like what was done to the American people yesterday,'' he said.
If Clinton pulls out a win, the crime bill will be yet another turn in the roller coaster of Clinton's presidency.
``The test of this administration,'' Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala said, ``is not whether we're going to trip every once in awhile but whether we're going to get up, brush ourselves off and get out there and keep working.''
by CNB